MOVIE REVIEW: The Oscar hopeful 'Kati Kati'

On 10th November 2017, a 70-minute film following a novice paramedic and his efforts to save a road crash casualty whom no hospital wants to admit for 18 hours will debut in Kenya and East Africa.

Judging from the 18 Hours film trailer widely shared online, buffs of local entertainment are in for a treat.

However, another film of the same length has already been making headlines nationally and globally.

Kati Kati like the 1990 film, Ghost, starring Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in a performance that earned her the Best Supporting Actress in both the Academy Award and BAFTA Award muddles in ethereal circles incredibly.

Before being selected to represent Kenya in the category of best foreign language films at the 90th Academy Awards 2018, Kati Kati had won a number of accolades such as the 2017 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival’s Emerging Filmmaker Award and 2017 Africa Movie Viewer’s Choice Awards for East Africa.

Kati Kati is now available in various VOD (video on demand) platforms such as Showmax.

MEET OF THE LIVING YET DEAD

A young girl find herself at the heart of nowhere with only an inn nearby in the heart of a dry tropical savannah wilderness.

She makes her way to the inn and finds a group of people chatting and seemingly passing time normally.

She asks where she is and one of the men introduces himself as Thoma.

“This is Kati Kati. And you’re here because you’re dead”.

She does not believe it. After a long perusing look into the faces of the strangers she flees into the open only to hit an invisible wall and collapse on the ground.

Kaleche has arrived in a place between death and hell or paradise, where only a few with unrequited questions and unsorted issues about their deaths find their way.

She throws an object at the invisible transparent wall and it is deflected back in. No exeunt from Kati Kati.

The blanching hands of King and a terse “don’t” jarringly stops her futile attempts to leave.

King’s paling hands, mentally disturbed state and seriousness wakes her up to the reality of the tropical purgatory-like place.

UNFOLDING UNKNOWN

Apparently, everyone arrives with a blank mind and Kaleche is no different.

As the reality begins to dawn that the new group of misfits are not lying, her inquisitive mind takes over.

Who is she? Where does she come from? How did she die? Why is she in Kati Kati?

Every single scene in this indie film is a journey of ultimate discovery not only for Kaleche, but also the audience also engrossed in the unfolding otherworldly events.

Kati Kati is a place where what you need is delivered at your doorstep and you only need to write it down on a writing pad.

Lunch can earth-shatteringly disappear in the twinkling of an eye before you have taken a bite or two.

It is where you can drown in a pool of water and pass out and everyone laughs heartily when the clueless intimate you could have died.

The drama unfolds as Kaleche learns that while some of the people there had died almost a decade ago, they only arrived in Kati Kati a few months or years back.

They must have spent time elsewhere. Instantly, you realise there is a good reason why these individuals are there.

‘LETTING GO’ THE HEART OF KATI KATI

The effective simple makeup of Thoma’s dead self, a white ghost in tattered clad, takes the mystery of the place a notch higher and the blanching skin on Mikey’s leg and later on Kaleche’s shoulder denotes something is about to happen.

Soon Kaleche’s past will dawn on her, intertwined with that of one of the residents at Kati Kati leading to an eruption of emotion as she learns why she died.

Seemingly, accepting your fate and what happened opens up the invisible wall of the mid-place in the heart of nowhere, allowing you to continue with your journey into the afterlife in one loud thunderous bang rendered effectually.

It is a journey of personal forgiveness and letting go and facing your bitter and oftentimes painful past events that killed you.

The 70 or so minutes present an outstandingly done film driven by a well-written script, talented cast and apt direction.

Simple, well contrived effects build up the plot, surreptitiously moving every scene.

Kati Kati is the directorial debut of Mbithi Masya and brings together a star-studded cast from the local scene of Nyokabi Gethaiga as Kaleche, Elsaphan Njora as Thoma, Paul Ogola as Mikey and Peter King Mwania as King. The supporting cast include the Mali TV Series actress Mary Gacheri as Mikey’s Mom, Mumbi Maina as Jojo and Brian Ogola as Anto, who will be returning to a screen near you in Njue Kevin’s 18 Hours.

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